“Whyare you following me around?”I asked, trying to keep my voice even.
Leo, apparently, spooked easily. He misinterpreted things, and when he got the wrong signal, heran.Surprising for someone who talked with his fists. I was learning, though. There was a fine art to navigating Leo, a tiptoe through this new friendship that made me want to work even harder to solidify it.
He’d been like this for days.Bitingaside, I’d considered the mission a success. Lycean was in custody, and I’d gotten at least a little information from him before Leo and Reed went berserk. Splinter’s leaderswerein Nightmyre; but the organization had gone worldwide, at this point. After debriefing with Dahlia, she mercifully gave us some time off while she coordinated our next moves.
But since then, he’d latched himself onto my side. I would have been fine with it if he would act normal. Instead, I’d adopted an aloof cat with attachment issues. Contracts at the hospital? Leo was there. Going out with Reed? Leo was there—much to Reed’s enjoyment. He hadn’t been stumbling through his words; there was too little said to do that.
At first, I thought maybe all of our progress was lost. Tensions were high; I was snappy before we even got to the club, and the whole thing ended up in a shitshow. The look on his face in the warehouse stuck with me, though. Pure fear.
It wasn’t that bad, was it?
Better than being bombed, anyway.
Leo shrugged, his shirt pulling tight against his shoulders. “I have nothing better to do.”
“Then get a hobby!” I squealed, raising my hands as patients and visitors in my unit turned to gawk. I lowered my voice, almost hissing as I said, “I feel like you’re babysitting me, or I’m babysitting you — I’m not even sure anymore. If you want to hang out, then we can do that. But you’re beingweird,and it’s scaring my patients.”
He was a rock wall, with nothing on his face to give me anything to go on. That fear I’d seen? Completely gone, replaced with that stone mask. Every snide remark, every glare and frown, was a front that he put on to keep people at a distance. I wanted to knowwhy.
Leo leveled his eyes with mine. “Be real with me; what’s the draw of this?” He waved a hand toward the hallway. “You’re watching people die; watching their last and worst moments without any possibility of saving them. Why do you do it?”
I organized the smelling salts in my backpack before giving him a withered look. Since my surgery, I hadn’t needed them, but walking around empty handed felt vulnerable. “Why are you avoiding my question?”
He didn’t respond, and waited for my own answer.
I sighed. “Because Iknowthey’re going to die, and I can make it easier on them. Instead of pain and machines and doctors, they see a beach, or a childhood home, or the love that got away. I always know what I’m walking into, and they always go peacefully. No one’s life is in my hands.”
Leo nodded, and I knew he was taking in every word I said, locking it away in some part of his brain. “That makes sense.”
It took me a moment, watching him as he fiddled with his hands in his pockets, his eyes glancing around us every few seconds before returning to my own. Leo always kept his back to the wall, making sure he was a step behind me whenever we were moving. His head was a permanent swivel.
Is that it?
“Are you trying to protect me?” I blew out my cheeks as I withheld my amusement. “Is that what this is?”
He frowned, and his silence was deafening.
“Nothings going to hurt me.” I lowered my tone again, attempting to be serious as I flipped through my clipboard of paperwork. “Lycean is in custody. You don’t have to waste your time.”
“There’s more of them out there,” he grumbled. “Joon would kill me if I left you unprotected before we take Splinter down.”
Is that it? He feels like he has some duty to uphold, for Joon?
For some reason, my heart sank a little. It made sense; they were partners, friends. He felt a responsibility toward me, or maybe he just didn’t want to see someone else die. But… we were getting closer, weren’t we? Had all of this been built on his loyalty to Joon, or was I going crazy?
“You know… you don’t talk about him,” I tested the waters. “I mean, you’ll mention his name, but it feels like there’s more you need to say. If there is, I’ll listen. I won’t break down or anything, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
Leo went pale, and I wanted to take the words back.
Don’t run away; talk to me. You’re allowed to have a voice, too.
“Alex!” Doctor B called from down the hall, and we both snapped our heads up.
“This conversation isn’t over,” I whispered before waving back at my beat-red boss. “What’s up?”
He jogged toward us, his lime green crocks scuffing on the just-polished floor. “I have,” he paused, gasping, “an unusual request. But with your new upgrades, I think it would be possible, revolutionary even.”
Leo and I exchanged a look before I nodded. “Alright, I’m in. What do you need?”
